The Excelsior College Examinations (ECE) exams are a way for learners to quickly gain college level credit for experienced and knowledge already gained. The learner can take an exam which may be computer based or paper based, depending on the test and the testing center.

Colleges have their own acceptance policy for accepting ECE exams. Some colleges only accept a certain amount of credits from examinations; some will only accept examinations that were taken while the learner was enrolled in the college.

There are some colleges that have no limits on the amount of credit received through examinations. For instance Excelsior University in Albany New York and Thomas Edison State College of Trenton New Jersey are no residency colleges that accept 100% credits from examinations. These are fully regionally accredited colleges that will get you into graduate school. 

There are many reasons learners want to take ECE exams:

1.It saves time! Learners can take these exams with knowledge they might have learned elsewhere, for instance in High School.

2.It saves money! DSST exams only cost $70. That is much cheaper than most courses, even at many community colleges.

3.Satisfy a proficiency requirement! How many learners have questioned the need to take a course that they don’t believe fits into their college goals?

There are three types of ECE examiniations:

ECE objective tests: Multiple-choice examinations.

ECE Extended Response: Essay type examinations.

ECE Mixed Format: Multiple-choice and free response questions.

Here is a brief list of subjects available through ECE examinations:

ARTS & SCIENCES/BUSINESS
Abnormal Psychology
Anatomy & Physiology
Bioethics*
Cultural Diversity*
Ethics: Theory & Practice
Foundations of Gerontology
Human Resource Management
Juvenile Delinquency*
Labor Relations
Life Span Dev. Psychology
Microbiology
Organizational Behavior
Pathophysiology
Psychology of Adulthood and Aging
Research Methods in Psychology
Social Psychology*
Statistics
World Confilicts
World Population

EXTENDED RESPONSE
American Dream
English Composition
Religions of the World
Research in Nursing

EDUCATION
Literacy Instruction

NURSING
Adult Nursing
Community Health Nursing
Fundamentals of Nursing
Management in Nursing
Management & Leadership in Nursing
Maternal & Child Nursing (Associate)
Maternal & Child Nursing (Baccalaureate)
Maternity Nursing
Nursing Concepts 1,2,3,4,5,6
Nursing Concepts: Foundations of Professional Practice
Psychiatric/Mental Health Nursing

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